Individualism and individualisation are hotly debated concepts. Arguments aboutthe definition the moral and societal significance of these concepts are rifein t... » 

Individualism and individualisation are hotly debated concepts. Arguments aboutthe definition the moral and societal significance of these concepts are rifein the media and in scholarly circles. Whereas one side feels that theseconcepts designate processes of progress and individual freedom the other sideassociates them with individual isolation corrosion of social cohesion andother negative symptoms. This situation demands not a settlement for alldifferences of opinion which would be impossible but a more precise view ofthe content and of the different frameworks in which these concepts can beused. This volume aims to address this task. After an introduction to themultifaceted nature of the central concepts the essays in Part One focus onthe sociological prevalence of individualism and on the multilayered contentof this concept. Part Two addresses the relationships between the dominantvalues of individualism and the political structure of Western societies. PartThree highlights the issue of social integration of individualising societies.Part Four examines the particular Gestalt of society which seems to fitprocesses of individualisation Civil Society. Part five deals with questionsconcerning the construction of personal and social identity in postmodernsociety. «